Joe is the father of two sons with hemophilia. He and his wife, Cazandra, are active members in the bleeding disorders community and often facilitate workshops both locally and nationally. Joe is a pastor in the United Methodist Church and writes a blog about spirituality and faith. You may follow his blog at www.joekmac.com.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it is challenging to recognize the people in our lives who overcame overwhelming odds to remind us that life means more than merely accepting our condition. We must thrive, even when we face uncertain futures, painful treatments, or life-changing issues. Our champions,…
Families who live with chronic illness have quickly learned to place trust in medical teams to determine the best course of action. If doctors and nurses suggest we quarantine, we may not like it, but we follow the guidelines, believing that the prescribed course of action will deliver the…
With all the issues surrounding the new coronavirus, I can’t help remembering about 15 years ago when we faced the possibilities of a medical shortage in the bleeding disorders community. A shortage of factor VIII meant that many in the hemophilia population faced a lack of medicine…
Raising children is like building a house. For those of us who manage chronic illness and other disorders, our floor plans may look a little different, but at the end of the day, we all want our loved ones to be strong and sturdy, and ready to face life’s…
I do not have hemophilia. My sons are the ones who live with a chronic bleeding disorder, and at first, I struggled to find something we might have in common. My wife and I are musicians, and the running question during my wife’s pregnancies was, “What if they are…
I do not like to tell people that my sons are hemophiliacs. It is not that I am blind to the reality that they have a bleeding disorder, but my boys are so much more than a diagnosis. Why address them as if they carry a title or wear a…
As I mentioned in an earlier column, the news that my firstborn son had hemophilia caught my wife and me entirely off guard. When we spoke with the obstetrician, the only word we heard was hemophilia. We later learned that my son had another diagnosis: a low inhibitor…
I am sitting in a favorite restaurant with the three great loves of my life: my wife and two sons. It is Valentine’s Day, and the place is packed and loud. But the noise fades into the background as I find myself captivated by the conversation at our table. We…
A lack of control is one of the most frustrating things about staying in the hospital. Doctors, nurses, and everyone else enters the room without permission. Nothing runs on my schedule. I need to find a way to reclaim at least a small part of my life. I do not…
As a father of sons with hemophilia, I know my way around a hospital like the back of my hand. We have visited the emergency room far too often. An internal bleed from a fall or a spontaneous joint injury would start at home and continue to cause…
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